One Senator Holds Up Bill, in New Level of Gridlock

The Senate tied itself in knots Monday as it tried to get around a single lawmaker's objection to a spending bill, a showdown that has become emblematic of capital's partisan gridlock.

Sen. Jim Bunning (R., Ky.) again blocked a $10 billion bill that would have extended unemployment benefits and other programs after halting its progress last week. And on Monday, the impact of his blockade started biting, with the expiration of benefits to more than 100,000 people and the suspension of 41 transportation projects across the country.

Mr. Bunning is holding things up by objecting to a "unanimous consent" request to advance the bill quickly, a routine maneuver for moving legislation forward that requires all senators to go along.

As the $10 billion measure foundered, Senate leaders began debating another, more than $145 billion bill that would achieve some of the same ends, including prolonging unemployment insurance until year's end. A vote on that bill is expected by Friday, and lawmakers hope to make it retroactive so that jobless workers would still get their benefits, albeit delayed.

Even so, those who lost benefits might have to reapply, resulting in delays from three weeks to two months, according to Andrew Stettner, deputy director of the National Employment Law Project, a left-leaning advocacy and research group.

Democrats used Mr. Bunning's move to highlight what they said was a pattern of Republicans gumming up the works on even the most popular measures.

Many Republican leaders, cognizant of the political peril surrounding Mr. Bunning's action, quietly distanced themselves. But others, including Arizona's Jon Kyl, the Senate's second-ranking Republican, supported Mr. Bunning's right to raise the cost issue. "Every time we pass one of these bills, we are adding to the deficit, and we are not creating jobs," Mr. Kyl said. "And it's a legitimate point for Republicans to make."

ENLARGE

Sen. Jim Bunning, shown last month, blocked a $10 billion bill that would have extended jobless benefits.
European Pressphoto Agency

The standoff has brought renewed attention to the Senate's arcane procedures, which give enormous power to individual senators and have prompted many people, including House members, to call the Senate dysfunctional.

"It might work under the Senate rules that they can do that, but it certainly doesn't work for American families," said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D., Nev.). "I hope Republicans will reconsider and think about their constituents standing in the unemployment line as we speak."

Mr. Bunning says he favors the unemployment-benefits extension but wants it to be paid for. The current bill would add to the deficit. "If we can't find $10 billion to pay for something we all support, we will never pay for anything on the floor of this U.S. Senate," Mr. Bunning said.

ENLARGE

According to the Department of Labor, the expiration of unemployment benefits caused 100,000 people to lose their benefits immediately and about 400,000 people within one to two weeks. About 500,000 jobless people would lose their health-insurance subsidies under the Cobra program over the course of a month.

The bill blocked by Mr. Bunning also would have halted steep cuts in payments to doctors who treat Medicare patients. The logjam leaves doctors with a 21% reduction in those payments. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has asked health-care providers to hold their claims for 10 days, in hopes that the Senate will rescind the payment cuts by then.

The bill would have extended the Highway Trust Fund, whose expiration caused the U.S. Department of Transportation Monday to furlough nearly 2,000 employees without pay. The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials said states are losing more than $153 million a day in federal reimbursements.

Democrats hope to take care of many of these problems by passing the larger bill at the end of the week. This "extender" bill, which the Senate took up Monday, not only would extend unemployment benefits, the Cobra health program and Medicare doctors' payments, but would also prolong expiring tax breaks such as the research-and-development tax credit. It would shore up pensions and provide $25 billion to help states make Medicaid payments.

For now, Democrats appeared to relish the fight, because it plays into a broader narrative the party has constructed that paints the GOP as the main cause of Washington's gridlock.

"Because of the games of Washington, hundreds of thousands of people are without the benefits they need as they continue to look for work," said White House spokesman Robert Gibbs.

Mr. Bunning, 78 years old, is known on Capitol Hill as a gruff, sometimes irascible figure. A Hall of Fame pitcher, Mr. Bunning has a chilly relationship with Republican leaders over the perception they sought to prevent him from seeking re-election this year. He announced his planned retirement from the Senate several months ago.

He was the sole senator to vote against President George W. Bush's appointment of Ben Bernanke in 2006. He accused Henry Paulson of acting like the "minister of finance in China" for taking over Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Lawmakers from both parties are mindful of the government shutdown in 1995, which was part of a showdown between then-President Bill Clinton and then-House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R., Ga.). The public largely blamed Mr. Gingrich and the Republicans, and the episode marked the beginning of a resurgence in Mr. Clinton's popularity.

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